


(un)royal pursuits

by baexil



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, and some magic, empath jeno, magic house, natural leader donghyuck, prince AU, wicked smart renjun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 05:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19900567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baexil/pseuds/baexil
Summary: When the king falls ill and passes away. As per the proper tradition, there is a week of formal mourning by the capital before the official call goes out.All eligible persons are required to gather together for the custom that all modern kings have followed in order to democratically determine who will be the next king.Of course, Renjun thinks that is complete bullshit.





	(un)royal pursuits

When the king falls ill and passes away. As per the proper tradition, there is a week of formal mourning by the capital before the official call goes out.

All eligible persons are required to gather together for the custom that all modern kings have followed in order to democratically determine who will be the next king. 

Of course, democratically is liberally used here. Not anyone is eligible for this gathering. Unless you subscribe to a certain demographic, you won’t even been considered for an invitation to the selection process. Only those sons descendent from the oldest families of the kingdom are selected to attend a year of courses at the ancestral home of the First King. A school of sorts, but no ordinary school. This school is held to test the pupils against their instructors, hand-selected by the Holy Priest himself, to pick the most worth candidate to be king. This method has long been used as it is thought that it helps the true king stand out from his peers. 

Of course, Renjun thinks that is complete bullshit. 

For one smart enough to read between the lines, they would find out that this means that only the male heirs of the land-owning elite are allowed to come to show off how well-off they are as the religious instructors sculpt the perfect puppet king to sit on the throne again. 

“Please remind me why I am being sent to this again? There’s nothing that faux can teach me that I don’t already know.” He grumbles, glaring at the formal clothes hanging in his closet as if he could burn them simply with a look. 

“Because it is required, my dear,” His mother says, directing the servants to place his empty trunks in the middle of the room., “And you don’t know maybe the instructors will have something new for you.” 

“I don’t even want to be king!” He protests. 

His mother gives him a look, compelling him to be silent until she can dismiss the two servants from his room. Only when the door clicks behind them does she turn and set her own icy glare to him. The room seems to get colder. 

“I will not have any talk about not becoming king,” she says, folding her arms in front of her in a way that seems very ladylike to a stranger but Renjun knows all too well that she only places her hands in that specific manner when she is furious and he is in seriously big trouble. He has privately thought that she grips her hands together like that so that she can stop herself from wringing his neck. It pays off to be the sole heir a lot of the time. Potential mother beatings included. 

“If you are selected to be king, you will do so with a grateful heart and think only of all the honor it will bring your family.” His mother continues. 

Renjun, ignoring the etiquette that has been beat into him, rolls his eyes. He does, however, pick something up so he has an excuse to roll his eyes where his mother cannot see. 

“I didn’t hear you,” She says cooly. 

“Yes, mother.” Renjun replies dutifully, knowing that is always the response to anything she tells him. He keeps his eyes down to not betray any emotion on his face while he beats down the fury and injustice of his position. If he was this unhappy, he can’t imagine what it would be like to be a commoner. He needs to remember to be less selfish. 

“Now hurry up and pass me your formal wear in the family colors.” Her clipped tone indicates the end of the conversation whether he had anything more to say about it or not. 

“Yes, mother,” He dutifully replies again, picking up a military suit with hues of the family’s forest green and hoping that he will be able to escape the confines of this “school” before he is required to wear it the austrocity. 

A servant sticks their head into the room, “Ma’am, a message from the Lee family of the Southern branch.” 

His mother sniffs, “What could they possibly want?” 

“To see if the young master would like to travel by coach to the manor with a few of the other families.” 

“As if,” his mother turns to the manservant to give a pristine, icy smile, “Our son will be going by private charter of course.” 

_Great._ Renjun thinks. Nothing beats a journey he doesn’t want to take then spending three days alone in a horrible carriage. 

\-----

“Now remember, son,” His father’s deep timbre echoes in his head as his carriage rounds the driveway to a large manor, his parting words to him sticking to him like stale gum, “Make our family proud.” 

Donghyuck huffs, his curly bangs moving faintly from his forehead with the breath. He desperately wants to be anywhere but here. Well, he was eager to stop riding in the horse-drawn carriage. He doesn’t care how much the carriage cost his family, it was still not a comfortable way to travel. It’s stuffy too with all of the silk his mother insisted on. He would much rather be on horseback. But he was disallowed, some nonsense about appearances. 

But he also desperately does not want to arrive at the manor. He knows what awaits him there. Boring classes, stuffy teachers, too much praying, and worst of all, other nobel boys. 

The carriage hits something in the road that causes this whole vehicle to jolt. He nearly bites his lip at the sudden movement and it unreasonably irritates him. But he seems to be irritated at almost anything. He supposes that’s what happens when he is forced to do something against his will and his father bears down on him with family honor _this_ and family honor _that_. 

“And most importantly-” His father’s voice echoes again as Donghyuck leans out of the window, seeking fresh air and hoping the wind takes his father’s message with it. 

“Do not embarrass me.” 

His eyes then land on the manor, all towering and unwelcoming with five floors and as wide as a city block. His father had some guts ordering him to not embarrass him. As if he could do that anymore than his father has already brought shame onto their family. 

Then his eyes flutter out the sprawling lawn that makes up the manor’s yard along with the estates gardens and what appears to be a large wood. He wonders how long it would take him to get to the closest town on foot. Might be worth to see if he could get his hands on a horse. If he could do that then he would be gone from this place as soon as humanly possible. 

His eyes are drawn back to the manor by round faces peering through the front-facing windows. Boys who must have arrived earlier than him peek out curiously as his carriage rounds to the entrance. Donghyuck frowns. Curious or nosey, he isn’t for sure but instinctually leans towards the latter. 

One of the boys has thrown open their window, perched on the edge and is more concerned with tilting his head to soak in the late afternoon rays than his upcoming approach. Against his better judgement, his eyes lingering on his tall frame, his hair catching the wind in a distracting way. 

Their eyes meet and it feels like electricity has sparked between them. Quickly, he drops his eyes and tries to hide the fact that he was looking up that way. 

Two seconds in and he has already disappointed his father. 

It wouldn’t be the last time either. 

\-----

Jeno has only just put down his bags before he is excitedly bounding over to the large paned windows. He takes a moment to enjoy the sun filtering through the glass before he throws them open. Closing his eyes against the breeze of fresh air that rushes over his face, he grins happily. 

He has been in the manor for all of an hour, enough to check in and get assigned rooms and the amount of boys and all of their noise is already taking a toll on him. Luckily, his assigned room is on the top floor with half as many rooms as the fourth and third floors. It will be enough to give him some physical distance so he doesn’t have to be bothered by all the emotions of the other boys. 

As it is, he can feel the house staff who are bringing in his belongings (bored, annoyed) and another boy who bounds into his room (excited, eager, maybe jealousy?). 

“Hey Jeno,” the boy he felt dances between the house staff who are now pulling the dust blankets from the furniture. He had made friends with this boy on the carriage ride over. Him and two other boys had taken the same carriage since they all traveled from the southern kingdom, “I just heard the craziest thing.” 

“Oh?” He asks, pulling himself up onto the window ledge to dangle his feet. This boy seems eager to be his friend and it twinges his smile because it doesn’t feel entirely genuine. But he could be wrong, with the sheer amount of emotional transference leaking from boys running around makes it difficult to place exact emotions and intentions. 

“Apparently the Lee house from the capitol is sending a boy over to school.” The other boy says, oblivious to the push of jealousy that is shoved his way, “And he may be moving into the room next to yours!” 

“Mine?” Jeno blinks, surprised. Again, he is not sure if he is jealous of the boy or Jeno’s distance to the prominent boy. 

“If the Lee family is sending a son, is there any hope for the rest of us?” He asks, shining heavily. Jealousy again and maybe a bit of contempt. “I didn’t even know they had an eligible son to send.” 

Jeno isn’t sure what to say to that. He is exhausted from spending so much time with these other boys. While he spends a lot of time with people at his hometown, it was different. He was able to lock himself away when it was getting to be too much. That and the boys he spent a majority of his time around were commoners who had much more straightforward approaches to their emotions. He’s never felt as much of emotional suppression in his life. 

But his eyes go back out the window, his heart racing with nervousness. If all of the emotions here are bothering him this much now, he’s not sure how he will fare for the rest of the year. 

As he gets caught up in his thoughts, a coach rumbles down the driveway towards the front door of the manor. A boy with soft, orange hair is leaning out the window, clearly eager to jump out of the cab as soon as he can. He doesn’t blame him, those things were not comfortable. 

Of all the windows to look at, the boy looks up and meet his eyes. His heart pounds loudly, feeling almost a magnetic pull to those eyes. He wonders who that could be. Another promising son of a well-off family. 

There seem to be a lot of well deserving boys here. He can’t help but hope that if there are enough good choices at this school, the likelihood of him becoming king shrink. He doesn’t want to be king. He wouldn’t be good as king. The sooner the rest of his classmates realized that, the faster he can go home and do some real good. 

\----

“And in this way, the king is able to use his royal decree to send the call for the different state’s armies to congregate in the capitol.” The teacher has been moaning on and on about the king’s military power and it’s enough to drive Donghyuck crazy. The room is hot and stuffy and these damn required uniforms are stiff and uncomfortable. He curses the professor for not opening the windows. One of the boys asked earlier and the prof had some stupid response iinsisting that the heat keeps the boys more focused. 

He is so irritated that he also takes the time to also curse the former king for not dying at a more weather-appropriate time of the year. It was too much for a northern boy like him. 

Donghyuck slouches in the back of the room, trying to hide enough behind his open book that he can get away with undoing the top button of his dress shirt. Anything for a bit of relief. 

A student that is sitting towards the front of the room shoots his hand in the air in the middle of the teacher’s rant about some war or another that a prior king called the forces together. It causes some tittering among the students. Donghyuck assumes that this is the only reason that the professor pauses long enough to give him a heavy look before calling on him. 

“What about the effect of the enlisted populace on the economies of their home villages?” The boy asks. Donghyuck arches an eyebrow at the back of that boy’s head, impressed as his question starts his classmates to whisper excitedly. 

It’s not considered the student’s place to ask questions during their classes, even if it’s a clarifying question. That was for actual universities where higher learning was sought out. While this place is called a school, it’s anything but an institution of actual education. 

The professor strides over to the student’s desk to look down his long, pointed nose at him. It’s a common intimidation tactic, getting into someone’s personal space, but the boy doesn’t seem scared at all, more genuinely interested. 

“Excuse me?” The teacher drawls, clearly irritated at being interrupted. 

“I was wondering if the impact of the sons leaving their hometowns has been measured considering the kingdom’s coin drops in value every time the king uses the decree to bring the state’s militia together.” The boy asks, this time flipping through a tome that is on his desk. Donghyuck is curious because it doesn’t look like the class’s textbook. Again, the boy doesn’t sound like he is questioning the teacher’s knowledge but actually interested in the answer he may provide, “According to the research during the last great war by a commoner-” 

“Enough,” The professor hisses, slamming the tome shut in the boys face. “That is not a pre-approved text for this class, Mr. Huang. You should stop wasting your classmate’s time and, more importantly, my own time with your pointless questions.” 

He expects the boy to be shocked or shamed at the public scolding, but instead he tries to speak again. 

“Please, sir, I just wanted to know if the commoners have been considered when the king calls-” he tries. 

“Silence!” The professor interrupts him, now clearly furious, “You are not permitted to speak again. Additionally for your continued disobedience, you will report to the headmaster after your lunch break.” 

Donghyuck expects frustration, anger, or again, shame, but instead he sees a familiar look on the other boy’s face. Blank eyes, a thin frown, and the overwhelming look of someone who has been disappointed again and not surprised to be so again. 

“That’s Renjun,” a classmate whispers behind him, “He’s from the Eastern lands.” 

“They say he’s a genius,” another voice says. 

“But clearly not smart enough to keep his yap shut,” says a third to the muffled laughter of them all. 

A genius interested in the plight of the common man, huh? 

Interesting. 

\-----

The class can’t be over fast enough. Renjun can feel the stares of the other boys throughout the whole class and he wishes he could be annoyed about it but he is actually more annoyed by the professor. 

He knew the question he was asking wasn’t an innocent one, but with his soft features and cute eyes, he knew he would be able to ask it without too much backlash. The professor and the students would just think of him as an interested student, especially since his intellect was well known throughout the ruling families. They wouldn’t be able to see it for the test it was. 

Renjun wanted to test the boundaries of what the professors were willing to share with the students. And this professor has miserably failed. But he was expecting that. He had originally hoped to find one of their instructors who would be more willing to let them have some actual discussion on how to rule but he has only been miserably disappointed thus far. 

He huffs and tries to not watch the clock count down. But when the bell finally sounds for lunch, he still knows that it is three minutes slower than the classroom’s clock. 

The boys pour out of the classroom and into the hallway where they are joined by the boys in the other classes, all flooding down the stairs and into the main dining hall in a way that only hungry teenagers can manage. 

Renjun is able to get through the food lines with surprisingly minimal bumping into other students before he is left to pick his spot to eat. He stops, shifting awkwardly as looks around for a spot. A lot of the boys seem to already know each other, pulling each other into groups as they have recreation while they eat. 

But Renjun wasn’t raised with these other nobel boys and he knew each and every one of them from his studies, but he never had a chance to interact with them socially. His parents didn’t facilitate social interactions with his peers growing up. 

Awkwardly, he finds a small quiet table on the outskirts of the room. And that’s okay, because Renjun has always done well solo. He is an only child and when his intellect first showed itself, his parents insisted on setting him up with all of the best tutors but that also meant a lot of time just him and his teachers. He didn’t really have the need for companions, not when he had books and scholarly interests to pursue. 

There is a low hum across the room when one of his classmates finishes with the food line. Despite himself, Renjun finds his eyes drifting over to the boy. He’s got a bright smile and attractive sloping eyes. Even the energy he gives off is warm and magnetic. Clearly Renjun is not the only one who thinks so. As few as five tables turn to beckon him over to their tables as the tall boy walks by. 

Renjun vaguely wonders what it would be like to have that many people clamoring to have him sit with them. If he was raised with emotional intelligence rather than book smarts. But those thought are shaken out of him in shock as the magnetic boy searches the room and finds him. Their eyes make contact and the boy seems to practically inflate with joy. 

He watches with wide, confused eyes as Jeno picks his way across the room, smiling and waving off others before depositing his tray down at Renjun’s table. 

“Hi, I’m Jeno!” He says brightly. 

Automatically, his mind sorts through his studies and pulls out the relevant information. Lee Jeno, from the Southern branch of the family. Youngest child and only son of the well-off but not well known trading family. 

“Renjun,” he says, shutting his thoughts off from listing the Lee family tree. Not relevant at the moment. But if he tried he could probably go back five generations. 

“I really liked your question during class today.” Jeno says brightly, picking up his utensils with a hungry eye on his portions. 

Is that the reason you sat by me? He thinks. 

“It seems you were the only one.” He says dryly instead, taking a moment to peek out at the other tables where students are clearly rubbernecking and whispering about them. He can’t decide if it’s because of what he said during class or wondering why Jeno decided to come and sit by him. 

Either way, Jeno doesn’t seem like he notices at all. Though it wouldn’t be unheard for such a tall and handsome boy to be ogled at on a daily basis. He supposes you must build up a tolerance for it after a while. 

Instead Jeno leans closer to him, eyes bright and mischief tucked into his smile, it almost looks like he is leaning forward to tell him a secret. Renjun can’t help but to want to know what the boy is going to say next. 

“Don’t let other people shame you for being smart.” He says, bright as a button, “Especially when you only have our country’s best interest at heart.” 

Renjun is taken aback. That was the opposite of what he was expecting Jeno to say and yet also somehow exactly the thing he needed. 

“And how do you know that?” Renjun asks, a bit confused and a lot intrigued. 

From a distance, Jeno looks of the other boys. Rich, living without a care with a silver spoon in their mouth, more concerned about their clothes and hair and connections rather than the actual circumstances their kingdom are in. He even physically looks like a potential king of the entire population of students, so handsome and so clearly well-loved, but there seems to be more to him than his outer appearance. 

“Trust me, I know,” Jeno says, eyes smiling as he takes a bit of food. 

And for some reason, he does trust him. Something in his tone that sounds sure. 

Renjun supposes he should have learned by now to not judge a book by its cover. Besides, he is more interested in reading this one more closely. 

\------

“Have you heard?” A classmate says, that look on his face that only means he’s got something juicy to say. Jeno isn’t sure he likes where this conversation is going, instead focusing on brushing down the brown mare he was given for class. 

The horse is obviously sweet and kind, responding to him after a good sniff and a bit of a treat that he snuck from lunch. She obviously enjoyed the apple a lot, communicating with him sweet as sugar since then. Oh, sugar, that’s a good idea to snag from the cafeteria next time. He grins when the horse pushes him, obviously feeling playful and ready to get into the field for exercise. It’s a welcome feeling as opposed to the dark, chaotic energy of the boys behind him. 

“That Donghyuck is the nephew of the passed king.” The boy continues. His mood drops again his smile even drooping at the corners. Over his horse’s back, he can see Donghyuck brushing at his own horse. A handsome steed who Donghyuck handles easily despite the obvious fiery nature of the black beast. But he is doing a good job of projecting a steadiness that the horse is responding well to. 

On the other hand, his classmates aren’t doing a good job at keeping their conversation to themselves. They are talking loudly and Jeno can almost feel the envy like a physical presence. Jeno himself is close enough to the boys that when Donghyuck throws them a warning look at them over his shoulder, Jeno is a part of it. He immediately wants to separate himself from his group, not wanting to be associated with the negative energies coming from the group. 

He’s not sure if it’s because they don’t have the six sense that Jeno has or if they are just that type of bully, but the look doesn’t stop the other boys. 

Jeno has an increasingly bad feeling about this. 

He’s always been good at understanding people. Their emotions and actions simple to read. He’s even able to work with those feelings. His sister always said that people were magnetized to him. But in this instance, these boys have drawn into a group around him and are clearly trying to close ranks. Especially on someone with such high competition as a son from the passed king’s own family. It’s petty, but Jeno knows that it’s unfortunately a part of human nature. 

“There are rumors that the king didn’t pass of natural causes.” The boy continues. Jeno’s mare knickers at him, he hadn’t even realized that he had tightened his hold on her reigns. He soothes the horse, apologizing. To ostracize was one thing, but this was bordering on dangerous territory. This accusation sounded like treachery. 

“That wouldn’t be surprising, especially considering the rumors around his sister.” Another boy chimes in. 

Jeno freezes. Over the back of his horse, he can see Donghyuck do the same. 

“Wait, isn’t that Donghyuck’s moth-” 

Jeno can’t really blame Donghyuck for turning around and chucking the brush at the boy’s head. 

“Don’t you talk about my mother-” He hisses. 

“Oh yeah? What are you going to do about it?” The boys says, quickly abandoning his horse for a stand off. 

“Don’t be jealous just because my father didn’t pick my mother out of the whore house unlike someone I know-” Donghyuck spits then defly dodges when the other boy lunges for him. 

By then the teacher is aware of what is happening, coming to split them up. Jeno is occupied with settling the horses who have been abandoned, skittish as the fighting breaks out. The professor dives in and its takes a few boys to split them up. Donghyuck looks better off than the other boy who looks worse for wear. 

“He started it!” The other boy’s accuse immediately. Jeno’s heart drops at it, a frown on his face. 

“Lee,” The teacher spits out, pointed back towards the manor, “Headmaster’s now.” 

Donghyuck doesn’t even bother to fight the professor’s wrongful verdict, turning on his heel and stomping off. He manages to catch a glimpse of his face before he goes. It’s surprising to him that while his face is plastered with rage, he only feels a painful hurt pulsating from him in rolling waves. when he doesn’t see anger there, instead hurt written all over his features. 

His face lingers in his mind’s eye as he helps stable the horses. 

Then he decides to have a word with those boys. 

\------

Donghyuck rounds the corner and finds Renjun already sitting outside the headmaster’s office. Ah, that class had seemed like such a long time ago he had forgotten that the other boy was also sent to the headmaster for his earlier behavior. However, he is a bit surprised that Renjun is still here, it had been a few hours since lunch when he was originally supposed to report. 

Almost as if he can hear his thoughts, Renjun looks up and watches him approach with a weary eye. 

“Mind if I join you?” He asks for lack of anything better to say. 

Renjun gestures to the empty chairs next to him, “Have your pick.” 

His tone is low and dry, a complete opposite of the curious tone he had adopted in class earlier that day. 

“You must’ve been eager for company,” Donghyuck says, taking a seat one down from him. 

“What can I say, none of the boys are dumb enough to get in trouble on the first day,” Renjun says somewhat bitterly. 

Donghyuck, quick as a whip, remarks, “They still have plenty of other ways to be dumb.” 

There is a pause before a snort of laughter. Renjun looks surprised at himself for the laugh. Donghyuck can’t help his smirk. 

“That was a good point you made in class today, by the way,” Donghyuck is the one slightly surprised at the amount of honesty he is willing to share with Renjun now, “It wasn’t right to punish you for simply being curious.” 

“Funny,” Renjun says. 

“What?” Donghyuck asks. 

“You aren’t the first one to say that to me.” Renjun replies, a small, unexpected smile on his face. 

They are both distracted by another student rounding the corner. This student is one that wasn’t too far away from his little fight earlier. 

“Speak of the devil,” he hears Renjun mutter as they watch the other boy come their way. 

“Need more company?” And how is Jeno bright even now. 

Renjun’s brow furrows, “Are you in trouble too?” 

“Yep,” He pops the p pleasantly, taking a seat just to Donghyuck’s left. 

“Hi, I’m Jeno,” He says to Donghyuck, the other two seemingly already acquainted. He smiles at him so wide and pure that Donghyuck is confused. 

“It’s hard to imagine you getting in trouble,” Donghyuck admits, shrugging when Jeno throws him a look, “No offense but you look all innocent. Like a Prince Charming-type.” 

“Not sure if the other boys will agree with that after I let them have it for riling you up.” Jeno says easily. 

Donghyuck raises his eyebrows, impressed despite himself. 

Renjun sighs heavily, leaning back so he can stare up at the ceiling. 

“I’m already regretting being here.” He says, it seems more to himself than the other boys. 

“Glad I’m not the only one,” Jeno says with a smile. An oddly pessimistic statement from a seemingly bright boy. 

A burst of mirth bubbles in his chest and he can’t stop himself from giggling. Jeno joins in with him easily, Renjun gives them both a few odd looks before he gives in and chuckles as well. In that moment, Donghyuck feels so connected to them. He might be able to survive this school experience if he has people like them on his side. 

Maybe they could be friends? 

The headmaster opens his door, glaring at them until their laughter subsides. 

“Is something about this situation amusing?” He asks. 

It takes everything in Donghyuck to simply bite his lip and not snark back. Or laugh in his face. 

“Who would have thought,” The headmaster continues, oblivious to Donghyuck’s inner conflict. “Nephew of the dead king, the genius of the Southern lands, and the beloved star of the Lee family. All sitting for my punishment on the first day.” 

The old man sighs heavily, “I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.” 

Donghyuck rather has the feeling that it may be. 

\------

They strike an easy if not new friendship, the three of them. It’s lucky that their dorm rooms are only a few doors from each other. They have plenty of time to bug each other about classwork or vent about the day or their classmates in the free time between dinner and lights out. 

It was everything he wasn’t expecting to find in this place. 

After sharing a pot of tea, something Renjun recommended for his nightmares and homesickness, the three of them share a quiet moment. 

It’s surprising because it’s rare that they aren’t off on one tangent or another. But a heavy silence lays between the three of them. 

“I had about six different plans on how I was going to escape this place,” Renjun confesses, breaking the silence. Jeno instinctively knows it to be true in the way Renjun almost rushes to get the truth out. 

Donghyuck take much time before he says, “Trust you to have backup plans for your backup plans.” 

It’s enough to soften the atmosphere but not break it which is fairly emotionally perceptive of him. Maybe Jeno has been finally rubbing off on him. 

And then in a surprising move, Renjun says, “I don’t want to be king. I never have.” 

For him to say that he doesn’t want to be king was possibly the most shocking thing he could admit to. Other than perhaps that his lifelong dream was to join the circus. No, even that would not be as shocking. 

And yet. 

“I don’t either.” Jeno confesses next. It’s hard to be shocked by something that he has been feeling this whole time. 

Donghyuck sighs, tapering off onto an almost manic chuckle. “How many boys here do you think are feeling the same?” 

“All but a few,” Renjun guesses, “But as the family’s heirs, we are socialized to think about the duty and honor of the position and what it would mean for our family rather than think about all of the ways this antiquated role is hindering the growth of our nation.” 

Jeno can’t help but to drape himself onto Renjun’s side. “This is why you are the smart one.” 

“And what does that make you?” Donghyuck remarks dryly. 

“The handsome one.” It’s not even a question even if the other two roll their eyes at him. 

“So where does that leave us?” Donghyuck asks after a beat. 

“Should we make a master plan on how to run away?” Jeno asks with a bit of humor, but more with genuine curiosity. 

“What is the point in being here?” Renjun asks bitterly, “This whole school isn’t meant to educate us. It’s more to show off the wealth and power of the ruling families.” 

“An overly expensive display of wealth,” Donghyuck remarks. 

“Think about all the good this money could go to people who needed it,” Jeno chimes in with a thought he has had for a while, “Imagine if this was a school for orphans rather than us.” 

“They would deserve it more than housing us for riding classes,” Donghyuck says with a taste of disgust. 

“Or etiquette classes.” Renjun says with more disdain. “Please enlighten me how knowing which fork to use for the main course will help the plight of the common man.” 

It highlights something they’ve danced along the edges of until now. This school is the perfect example of how out-of-touch the ruling families are with the needs of the people. Based on the countries to the south, if they didn’t make major changes to address what the people need, it will lead to mass revolution. 

Personally, it was hard for Jeno to enjoy any of his meals here knowing that the common boys he was helping in his hometown where going hungry while he fested every night. 

Donghyuck sighs again, heaving himself to his feet seeming to have more weight than when he usually does. 

“We should table this for another day, this tea is making me sleepy.” He says, clapping Jeno’s shoulder. He agrees, getting to his feet as well. 

“In the interim, I will trust our local brainiac to come up with some contingency plans if we do decide to make a run for it.” Renjun cracks a smile at that which surely was Donghyuck’s intention. He gives them a good show of rolling his eyes, but the smile still plays on his features, even when he waves them out of the room breaking only to crack a yawn. 

\------

“I’ve got a plan,” Renjun says at breakfast the next morning, already in full plan mode before he even sets his tray down on the table next to the other two. 

Donghyuck is grouchy even when he doesn’t have a good excuse like being terrible at mornings, frowns at him. 

“You know I was joking when I was talking about coming up with more plans overnight,” He says, not bothering to chew his bread before he replies. Jeno crunches his nose at him so he chews more obnoxiously simply because he can. 

“No, hear me out,” Renjun says, clearly eager and he pushes his tray out of the way to lean forward and speak to them low enough to hear but none of their neighbors to eavesdrop. 

Grouchy or no, that perks Donghyuck’s interest. 

“Let’s stay.” Renjun starts. 

“Did we even have a say in that?” Donghyuck asks, confused where he is going with this. 

“No, listen, let’s stay but let’s aim to lose.” Renjun says. Okay, at least Jeno looks as confused as him. 

“Huh?” Jeno asks intelligently. 

“None of us want to be king,” Donghyuck nods at this but Jeno looks around worriedly, “Because we think that there are better ways to help the common man.” 

“Right,” Donghyuck says, still not following. 

“We are sitting here so privileged with all of this wealth of knowledge at our fingertips and we want to waste it all by running off, but that’s really not fair for those who would kill to have access to these professors and the library here.” 

“Good point,” Jeno says. 

“So, let’s aim to not be king, absorb as much as he can and then use what we’ve learned and combine our efforts to help the people once we get out of here.” Renjun finishes up. 

They take a moment to consider what Renjun just laid on them. 

“Think about it,” Renjun is at risk of falling into his breakfast with how eagerly he is leaning forward, “Between the three of us, we represent three of the most well known families and we also represent a large diversity of populations.” 

“There’s no telling what we could do,” Jeno chimes in, clearly starting to get taken in by the plan. 

“Woah, woah,” Donghyuck feels like he needs to be the voice of reason here WHAT DOES HE FEEL LIKE HERE???, “This sounds like a nice plan, but this could easily go wrong too. For one, I think I’ll be lucky to make it through the semester without punching one of these dicks in the, well, the dick.” 

“But that’s the thing,” Renjun leans over enough to grab Donghyuck’s hand, his eyes gleaming with the desire to get him to understand, “Wouldn’t the biggest fuck you be to use the very tools given to us against them?” 

Donghyuck takes a moment to think about this, “So it would be playing against the system?” 

“Exactly.” Renjun says, his eyes searching for something on his face. He obviously genuinely feels like this will work. And if a genius is telling me to go for it, especially one that he trusts as much as Renjun, then the decision is clear to him. He’s never one to turn away sound advice. 

“Let’s do it,” He says with a grin. 

Renjun’s eyes are dancing as he finally sits back in his chair, looking accomplished. When he picks up his silverware, Jeno turns and catches his eye. He sees Renjun’s excitement reflected there. 

There’s a swell in his chest, a bigger, stronger emotion of something that he has always felt with the two of them on his side. 

That he can do anything. 

That they can do anything. Together. 

\-----

It’s not too long after that things start to get weird. 

The three of them have gotten into the habit of sneaking out of their rooms after lights out and slipping into the library. Eagerly diving into books that they are otherwise kept from in their dull and pointless classes. 

The library is easily one of the most beautiful rooms in the manor. It’s two stories with vaulted ceilings and wooden arches with rows and rows of books in between them. 

It’s about a third of the size of his family’s library back home. Truthfully speaking, Renjun wishes that he was able to skip his classes and spend all of his time here. It would take him several lifetimes to go through all of the books in this room and he would do it willingly. He often gets lost in between the aisles, books piled all around. More often than not the other two have to pull him away before dawn rises and they must start their day. 

But some weird things have been happening. 

Donghyuck and Renjun will get into a fierce debate on federalism. Renjun will quote some old philosopher that neither have Donghyuck or Jeno heard before. Renjun will throw his hands up and go to look for the work he is thinking about and the book will just suddenly be there. On their table. At his elbow. As if waiting to be picked up and referenced. 

Renjun is flabbergasted the first time it happens. But after a few times, he starts to rely on it. He likes to think hard about a particular book and see if it will pop up somewhere nearby. It’s starts to get less surprising and more fun, even challenging this to see if he can have books about certain topics that he’s never read before. 

He’s not sure how he would’ve found a history on coin making if these weird things didn’t keep happening. 

But clearly something in this library likes them rummaging around it, having debates, actually using the contents rather than letting it stay dusty and unused. 

Renjun has to admit he likes being in the library as well. 

His favorite time of the day is just after midnight, the stars twinkling outside of panes of window, soft candlelight, surrounded by piles of books, the softly musty smell of paper, and the two boys curled up on the settee, fast asleep. 

The sight is distracting enough for Renjun to look up from his book, hand on his cheek as he takes in the sight of the two of them breathing softly and regularly in a deep sleep. His chest feels warm and he can’t help but to be so grateful for their presence and guidance and companionship. When he was sent to this school, he feared for the worst, but now, for the first time ever, he has a direction to work towards. His desire to actually help the people with the two of them by his side made him think of the Northern Star. Bright and true. 

Just as he thinks that, there is a crashing sound followed by the echo of a whine, like a door on some awfully squeaky hinges. 

Renjun jumps to his feet, heart racing. He’s not sure what happened but it was so loud that it surely would draw the attention of the adults. As it is, Jeno sits up blinking sleepily, Donghyuck pouting in his sleep as he reaches for the other boy. 

“What was that?” Jeno asks, voice muddled in his sleep. Renjun’s heart is still racing. 

“I don’t know,” he admits, “But we should probably play it safe in case anyone comes.” 

Jeno nods and starts the hard challenge of trying to wake up Donghyuck. Renjun starts clearing up his workspace as quietly as he can, but snorts a laugh when Jeno ends up just slumping Donghyuck onto his back who whines the whole time. 

They blow the candle out and maneuver in the dark, used to the library after so many nights of sitting down here that they don’t need light. They also stick to the shadows and corners in case someone does come to investigate the noise. 

And then Donghyuck stirs on Jeno’s back and asks, “Wait.” 

“Not now,” Renjun says, a bit irritated and more concentrated on peeking around a bookshelf to see if anyone has come into the library. 

“Was that open before?” Donghyuck asks, slipping off of Jeno’s back and stepping towards a delicate silver gate with it’s wrought door standing wide open. 

Renjun blinks quickly. That can’t be. 

“This is the restricted section.” He says, mouth agape, “It’s rumored it hasn’t been unlocked since the key was lost several thousand years ago.” 

Donghyuck turns and shoots a confused look at him. 

“The noise earlier did sound like a door opening,” Jeno says, disbelief coloring his tone. 

“But for it to randomly open up while no one is here is-” 

“Unlikely?” Donghyuck guesses. 

“Impossible,” Renjun corrects. But clearly they’ve passed some sort of judgement. Whatever magic that keeps helping them out here is given them a peek into a world long gone by. Maybe there is something in there they can use. 

“Well,” Donghyuck turns and takes a moment to look at the gate and the rows of bookshelves that lay beyond before throwing a grin over his shoulder, “Should we take a look at it?” 

“Hell yes,” Renjun says, stepping around him, eager to dive into whatever ancient books he can get his hands on. 

\----

It turns out that a majority of the books hidden behind that ornate gate are about magic. 

Which is interesting. 

Magic, as far as Donghyuck can tell from what Renjun tells him, has been wiped out of the vernacular of the ruling families. It’s more brushed off as peasant stories, far too ridiculous to even get credit to unless, of course, it could be used to persuade the commoners to go off for some pointless war or another. 

And the more Renjun’s reads and learns, the more Donghyuck comes to learn that their country seems to be on a hotbed of magic. One that has been untapped for too long. 

Donghyuck is thinking about this when one day he’s decided to leave Renjun to the library and sneak into Jeno’s room. 

Jeno’s warm hand is rubbing large circles on his back. 

“What are you thinking about?” He asks, lowly, always seemingly aware of him and his thoughts and feelings. 

“The country.” Donghyuck says, turning to tuck his nose into Jeno’s chest so he can feel the hum that Jeno gives in answer against him. 

“You’ve been thinking about that a lot.” Jeno says without an ounce of judgement. 

“It’s hard to think about anything else when we are primped and preened during the day and getting into the nitty gritty at night.” Donghyuck lamishes. “Why do you think all these things keep happening to us? Giving us access to all those books.” 

Jeno is quiet for a moment and Donghyuck can’t help but to admire him. He is their steadfast partner between the often dynamic differences between himself and Renjun. He is their peacekeeper, mediator, and the foundation of their trio. Always listening, thinking before he speaks, and speaking with precise words. 

Completely unlike Donghyuck’s quick sass or Renjun’s rapid wit. 

“I think it wanted to be found,” Jeno finally says, his hand stilling, “And we were the ones smart enough to look and listen.” 

And then Donghyuck asks the question that is really on his mind. 

“Do you think we are going to be able to do something with all of this new knowledge?” He asks in a rush. 

“Yes,” And this time Jeno doesn’t need a moment to think about his answer. A pulse of warmth runs through him at the answer. He leans up to give Jeno a smile before leaning down to brush a grateful kiss across his lips. 

Jeno blinks, surprised before running a warm hand up his spine and pulling him closer for another kiss. 

They separate when a clatter shakes the room. 

Looking up, Renjun has wide eyes, book still in hand sitting at a chair and desk that wasn’t there before a moment before. Books are strewn across the desk which could have only come from the library. 

“What the fuck?” Renjun says, ever their pottymouth before his eyes narrow and he sends a glare their way. 

“What did you two do this time?” He asks, accusatory. 

“Something you clearly need to have a part in,” Donghyuck says easily, climbing out of bed to plop on Renjun’s lap. 

It gives him pure joy to kiss the surprised expression off of his face. 

It gives him pure joy to kiss the surprised expression off of his face.

**Author's Note:**

> every fic i write i try to stretch myself a little bit further. my fatal flaw always seems to be time. there is so much more to this story that needs to be written. but deadlines are passed and more are looming and so this is what it is. i hope you enjoy!!


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